Rippin Chix ski tips from Alison Gannett

Alison Gannett’s Rippin Chix ski tips to help women ski better in more challenging terrain.

 To start things off on the right foot (or ski) begin with the proper women's specific ski equipment. Make sure your boots are snug and fitted to you, please do yourself a favor and get a custom boot fit. Have a good pair of women's specific skis in the right size and style for your skiing preferences (be it a carver, mid-fat, etc.) wear the right clothing; waterproof jacket and snow pants with a layering system underneath, wear a helmet and eye protection. Don't forget to put on sunscreen and stay hydrated. Once your gear and clothing are sorted you are now ready to hit the slopes.

Warm up run -

• Athletic position – hand position – hugging the big guy, lift tower
• Use other sport for visualization – receiving a tennis serve, getting ready to be tackled, soccer, etc
• Feet position – wider legs – fit a grapefruit between knees – avoid “the virgin clutch”
• Ankle position – bend ankles forward on each turn, - squish a dime between the shin and the boot, squish a grape under your toes, pressure on ball of foot, pressure “knee to ski”
• Stacking ankle, knee and hip.
• Do not just bend the knee –avoid  ‘sitting on the toilet”

Hand techniques -

• pole plant downhill, 45 degree angle, reach away from body
• pull pinky towards elbow, “cork the wine, serve the wine” , “ shine the flashlight – top of pole down the hill”
• “SERVE MARTINIS” plant pole then serve your tray down the hill on steep gnarly terrain to remain in the drivers seat.

Hand techniques to avoid-

• plant to “Velcro butt”
• plant to outrigger  - pole stays in snow too long, causing the upper body to turn uphill and away from moving down the hill and commitment to fall line, also moves the weight onto the uphill ski too much.
• long pole plants – fear based “hanging on”
• double pole plant “stabbing rats”
• “Tyrannosaurus rex”  - holding poles w/bent arms close to body
• “the oh shit” - panic upper pole dragging on sketchy traverses – learn to rely on your feet – pole drag does not slow you down, and it makes you lean into the hill

Eyes, waist, upper body-

• looking ahead
• breaking at the waist – how to look ahead to avoid this and use feet/legs/ankles
• “Push the bush” – commit to moving the body down the hill – avoids having the butt stick out and being in the back seat, and breaking at the waist
• body down the hill “zipper down the hill”
• body as a “T” facing down the hill
• looking ahead at instructor down the hill, or pick and object way down the hill.
• Stop looking at your bindings, or checking your bindings – looking up and down.

Feet/ankles/legs/hip-

• “stiff fear leg” avoid the stiff downhill leg that comes with fear –use bumpy traverses to demonstrate/practice using ankles to absorb bumps and not the upper body or butt – have skis follow terrain – up and down, using ankles
• wider stance – as terrain gets steeper feet get wider for balance and to keep weight on downhill ski.
• move hips together – keep feet even
• working uphill knee – uphill pinky toe
• knee to ski or shin to boot – ankle flexion – front of boot – ball of foot
• tipping skis early
• tip your head to initiate in steeps